Am I?

Maybe it’s because I, for some reason, equate intimidating with domineering and I know they’re not the same but that that quirk is from something in my childhood. I’m also a relatively quiet person, which I don’t equate to intimidating, perhaps because it’s loud, aggressive, in-your-face people who have often intimidated me.

But…I am frequently told, especially over the past couple of years, that I’m very intimidating and it hurts my feelings, probably because people shy away from me when they’re telling me this. And that’s just the ones who come out and say it.

I’ve been told a few things that people find intimidating but I’m not going to change those things and I won’t even try. I’ve never been the straight-A student who tried to play dumb to get a guy in high school, for example, and I ain’t ‘bout t’ start now.